Reborn as a devoted sister-in-law, she leads the entire village to prosperity.

"I'll be waiting!"

The coachman also asked him for thirty coins, which Xu Xiucai gritted his teeth and paid. He glared resentfully at the crowd and said, "Now can you get out of the way and stop blocking the way?"

The villagers, unable to contain their anger, deliberately blocked his path, which infuriated Xu Xiucai, who then began to curse and swear. Others mocked him, saying that a scholar should not be so foul-mouthed and that he was disgracing the culture.

Enraged, Xu Xiucai nearly fainted on the spot. He carried his mother away unsteadily.

Yu Banxia hurriedly asked the oxcart driver to take her home, as she really couldn't stand the smell on her body; in just a short while, she had started to smell bad.

The driver was in a great mood after receiving the money, and following her directions, he quickly took her home.

Yu Mangui fetched water and helped the driver wash the blood off the cart, but some bloodstains still remained.

"It's alright, we've already gotten the money anyway," the coachman said with a smile, not angry that he couldn't wash it off.

"Alright, then uncle, please take your time on the return trip," Yu Mangui instructed the driver.

The driver nodded, said goodbye, and left.

When Fan Cuilan saw Yu Banxia return covered in blood, she was startled. Seeing her daughter looking aggrieved and wanting hot water to take a bath, she quickly filled the tub with freshly boiled water for her.

Then, noticing the same things on his eldest daughter-in-law and Xiao Huzi, he was immediately alarmed: "What happened?"

"Why are they all covered in blood? Husband, you three men went with them, how did you manage to get your daughter and daughter-in-law injured?"

"Mother, we weren't injured. It was that shameless old hag Ji who said that our Xiaxia was possessed by an evil spirit and splashed black dog blood on her."

"We didn't even have time to react before we were soaked."

Seeing her mother-in-law angrily scolding her father-in-law and the others, Wu Zhuxiang quickly explained. Fan Cuilan, who was usually gentle, got angry when she heard that it was Ji Shi again.

"You guys go wash up first, I'm going to settle the score with her."

"Mother, no, I've already beaten her up. Xiaxia even revealed her secret of cheating on me. That old hag has already been beaten up by everyone."

Upon hearing Wu Zhuxiang's words, Fan Cuilan stopped in her tracks.

Looking at the donkey in the livestock shed, he asked curiously, "Is this ours?"

Wu Zhuxiang nodded repeatedly, beaming with joy, and said, "It's ours. My little sister bought it for us, saying it will make it easier for us to come and go in the future."

"Good, good, Xiaxia is so thoughtful. Go wash up quickly." Fan Cuilan first praised her daughter, and then quickly said to her daughter-in-law.

"There's still hot water in the pot, eldest son, hurry up and add some for your new bride." Fan Cuilan urged her son to help.

Yu Mangui quickly agreed and went to fetch bathwater for the new bride at home.

Yu Hongwen apologized repeatedly: "That woman rushed out too fast, we didn't even have time to react. Xiaxia and Huzi's mother were sitting on the left and got splashed by that crazy woman."

"It's good that she's alright. Didn't our daughter-in-law say she beat her up?" Fan Cuilan quickly comforted her husband, seeing his guilt.

Yu Hongwen nodded, and Fan Cuilan then asked them if their trip to town went smoothly.

Yu Hongwen nodded and said, "I've given the land deed to our daughter for safekeeping. Hu Zi and I have both been accepted by Yunshan Academy, and we'll go to town to study after the busy farming season."

"Oh? My daughter really paid your tuition too?" Fan Cuilan was overjoyed.

Yu Hongwen nodded and held his wife's hand: "I promise you, I will study hard. I won't just aim to be the top scholar, but I'll at least get you a degree in the imperial examinations so you can be a scholar's wife."

"Okay, okay, I believe you can do it." Fan Cuilan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Yu Hongwen said with a smile, "These are all good things and happy occasions, why are you crying?"

Fan Cuilan quickly smiled and said, "I'm just happy."

Yu Mancang was feeding the donkey when Wu arrived in a huff.

"Second daughter-in-law, I heard that Xiaxia was bullied by that crazy woman Ji?" Wu asked directly as soon as she entered the door.

Fan Cuilan quickly told Wu what she had heard, and Wu turned and left with a dark face.

Yu Hongwen glanced at his wife, while Yu Mancang was also somewhat bewildered. Why did Grandma just leave like that?

Fan Cuilan slapped her thigh: "Oh no, Mother must have gone to Xiaoxu Village."

"Quick, Mancang, come with me!" Fan Cuilan hurriedly called Yu Mancang to chase after them. Don't be fooled by Yu's small feet, she ran really fast, and in no time she could be seen anymore.

When the mother and son arrived, Wu was already cursing outside the Xu family's house.

"You heartless old shrew, you shameless old hussy, how dare you bully my Xiaxia and even throw dog blood at her?"

“My granddaughter didn’t curse wrongly. You old slut, you’re the one who’s possessed by a ghost, you shameless bastard.”

"You've been deceiving my granddaughter for two years, sending money and gifts to your family."

"You were stringing my granddaughter along back then, and now that she's realized what's going on, you're back to bothering her. You shameless bastard."

"I'm afraid they're just trying to trick my Xiaxia into getting engaged first, and then take money from my family to pay for your good-for-nothing son's exams!"

"Even if he passes the exam, he'll still be a corrupt official and an ungrateful wretch."

"You really think your family is some kind of hot commodity? Bah!"

Wu cursed more and more fiercely, and dragged out the corpse of the man she had slept with to whip it. The other women were also gathered around the Xu family's door, cursing as well.

This made them even angrier. One of them went straight up and knocked on the door: "Stop playing dead, you old bastard, open the door and get out here, or I'll beat you to death."

"That's right, come out here. You dare to cheat on someone but don't dare to admit it, huh?"

“My husband just confessed everything. Every time you go to him, you have to swindle some money from him.”

"So you really came here to sell yourself? Just as Yu Banxia from Rujiaren was right, you're more expensive than the ones in that building, but not as pretty or as seductive. You're just an old hag, yet you dare to seduce people."

"I bother!"

Inside the room, Ji Shi lay on the bed, her whole body aching, with insults constantly ringing in her ears.

She was so angry that she pounded the bed board, and Xu Xiucai's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Are you satisfied now? I'm going to be laughed at by everyone. Are you satisfied now?"

Ji could hardly believe his ears. What did he say?

"Are you blaming me?" Ji asked weakly.

Xu Xiucai slammed his things on the ground: "Otherwise what? If no one knew, that would be one thing, but now that everyone knows, where am I supposed to put my face?"

"Face? Do you even have a face?" Ji Shi was also angry and sneered.

A hint of hatred flashed in Xu Xiucai's eyes: "Now there are only two paths to take. One, we leave Xiaoxu Village and go to live in town. Once I pass the imperial examination and become a Juren, let's see if those people still dare to gossip."

"Or we can just give up and do nothing, and I won't bother taking any exams for official titles. I'll just stay in the village and farm for the rest of my life."

"No!" Ji pounded on the bed board.

Xu Xiucai looked down at her and said, "Then let's go to town. When I've made a name for myself, I'll come back and deal with them. A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years!"